B. (Tale I., Page 50.)
The letters of remission which at the instance of Henry VIII. weregranted to Michael de St. Aignan in respect of the murder of James duMesnil are preserved in the National Archives of France (RegisterJ. 234, No. 191), and after the usual preamble, recite the culprit'spetition in these terms:--
"Whereas it appears from the prayer of Michael de St. Aignan, lord ofthe said place, (1) that heretofore he for a long time lived and residedin the town of Alencon in honour and good repute; but, to the detrimentof his prosperity, life, and conduct there were divers evil-minded andenvious persons who by sinister, cunning, and hidden means persecutedhim with all the evils, wiles, and deceits that it is possible toconceive, albeit the said suppliant had never caused them displeasure,injury, or detriment; among others, one named James Dumesnil, a youngman, to whom the said suppliant had procured all the pleasure andadvantages that were in his power, and whom he had customarily admittedto his house, thinking that the said Dumesnil was his loyal friend, andcharging his wife and his servants to treat him when he came as thoughhe were his brother; by which means St. Aignan hoped to induce the saidDumesnil to espouse one of his relatives.
1 This was in all probability the village of St. Aignan on the Sarthe, between Moulins-la-Marche and Bazoches, and about twenty miles from Alencon. The personage here mentioned should not be confounded with Emery de Beauvilliers, whom Francis I. created Count of St. Aignan (on the Cher), and whose descendants, many of whom were distinguished generals and diplomatists, became dukes of the same place.--Ed.
"But Dumesnil ill-requited the aforesaid good services and courtesies,and rendering evil for good, as is the practice of iniquity, endeavouredto and did cause an estrangement between the said St. Aignan andhis wife, who had always lived together in good, great, and perfectaffection. And the better to effect his purpose he (Dumesnil) gave thesaid wife to understand, among other things, that St. Aignan bore herno affection that he daily desired her death; that she was mistaken intrusting him; and other evil things not fitting to be repeated, whichthe wife withstood, enjoining Dumesnil not to use such language again,as should he do so she would repeat it to her husband; but Dumesnil,persevering, on divers occasions when St. Aignan had absented himself,gave the wife of the latter to understand that he (St. Aignan) was dead,devising proofs thereof and conjectures, and thinking that by this meanshe would win her favour and countenance. But she still resisted him,which seeing, the said Dumesnil gave her to understand that St. Aignanwould often absent himself, and that she would be happier if she had ahusband who remained with her. And plotting to compass the death ofthe said St. Aignan, Dumesnil gave her to understand that if she wouldconsent to the death of her husband he would marry her; and, in fact,he promised to marry her. And whereas she still refused to consent, thesaid Dumesnil found a means to gain a servant woman of the house,who, St. Aignan being absent and his wife in bed, opened the door toDumesnil, who compelled the said wife to let him lie with her. Andthenceforward Dumesnil made divers presents to the servant woman, sothat she should poison the said suppliant; and she consented to hisface; but at Easter confessed the matter to St. Aignan, entreating hisforgiveness, and also saying and declaring it to the neighbours. Andthe said Dumesnil, knowing that he would incur blame and reproach if thematter were brought forward, seized and abducted the said servant womanin all diligence, and took her away from the town, whereby a scandal wasoccasioned.
"Moreover, it would appear that the said Dumesnil had been found severaltimes by night watching the gardens and the door in view of slaying St.Aignan, as is notorious in Alencon, by virtue of the admission of thesaid Dumesnil himself. Whereupon St. Aignan, seeing his wife thus madethe subject of scandal by Dumesnil, enjoined him to abstain from comingto his house to see his wife, and to consider the outrage and injury hehad already inflicted upon him; declaring moreover that he could endureno more. To which Dumesnil refused to listen, declaring that he wouldfrequent the house in spite of every one; albeit, in doing so, he mightcome by his death. Thereupon St. Aignan, being acquainted with theevil obstinacy of Dumesnil and desirous of avoiding greater misfortune,departed from the town of Alencon, and went to reside in the town ofArgentan, ten leagues distant, whither he took his wife, thinking thatDumesnil would abstain from coming. Withal he did not abstain, but cameseveral times to the said town of Argentan, and frequented his (St.Aignan's) wife; whereby the people of Argentan were scandalised. And thesaid St. Aignan endeavoured to prevent him from coming, and employedthe nurse of his child to remonstrate with Dumesnil, but the latterpersevered, saying and declaring that he would kill St. Aignan, andwould still go to Argentan, albeit it might cause his death. Insomuchthat the said Dumesnil, on the eighth day of this month, departed fromAlencon between two and three o'clock in the morning, a suspicious hour,having disguised himself and assumed attire unsuited to his calling,which is that of the law; wearing a Bearnese cloak,(2) a jacket of whitewoollen stuff underneath, all torn into strips, with a feathered capupon his head, and having his face covered. In this wise he arrived atthe said town of Argentan, accompanied by two young men, and lodgedin the faubourgs at the sign of Notre Dame, and remained thereclandestinely from noon till about eleven o'clock in the evening, whenhe asked the host for the key of the backdoor, so that he might go outon his private affairs, not wishing to be recognised.
"At the said suspicious hour, with his sword at his side,(3) and dressedand accoutred in the said garments, he started from his lodging with oneof the said young men.
2 See _ante_, p. 24, note 8.
3 The French word is _basion_, which in the sixteenth century was often used to imply a sword; arquebuses and musketoons being termed _basions a feu_ by way of distinction. Moreover, it is expressly stated farther on that Dumesnil had a sword.--Ed.
"In this wise Dumesnil reached the house of St. Aignan, which he found ameans of entering, and gained a closet up above, near the room where thesaid St. Aignan and his wife slept. St. Aignan was without thoughtof this, inasmuch as he was ignorant of the enterprise of the saidDumesnil, being in the living room with one Master Thomas Guerin, whohad come upon business. Now, as St. Aignan was disposing himself to goto bed, he told one of his servants, named Colas, to bring him his _cas_(4) and the servant having occasion to go up into a closet in whichSt. Aignan's wife was sleeping, and in which the said Dumesnil wasconcealed, the latter, fearing that he might be recognised, suddenlycame out with a drawn sword in his hand; whereupon the said Colas cried:'Help! There is a robber!' And he declared to St. Aignan that he hadseen a strange man who did not seem to be there for any good purpose;whereupon St. Aignan said to him: 'One must find out who it is. Is thereoccasion for any one to come here at this hour?' Thereupon Colas wentafter the said personage, whom he found in a little alley near thecourtyard behind the house; and the said personage, having suddenlyperceived Colas, endeavoured to strike him on the body with his weaponbut Colas withstood him and gave him a few blows,(5) for which reason hecried out 'Help! Murder!' Thereupon St. Aignan arrived, having a swordin his hand; and after him came the said Guerin. St. Aignan, who as yetdid not know Dumesnil on account of his disguise, and also because itwas wonderfully dark, found him calling out: 'Murder! Confession!'By which cry the said St. Aignan knew him, and was greatly perplexed,astonished, and angered, at seeing his enemy at such an hour in hishouse, he having been found there, with a weapon, in the closet. And thesaid St. Aignan recalling to memory the trouble and worry that Dumesnilhad caused him, dealt him two or three thrusts in hot anger, and thensaid to him: 'Hey! Wretch that thou art, what hast brought thee here?Wert thou not content with the wrong thou didst me in coming herepreviously? I never did thee an ill office.' Whereupon the said Dumesnilsaid: 'It is true, I have too grievously offended you, and am toowicked; I entreat your pardon.' And thereupon he fell to the ground asif dead; which seeing, the said St. Aignan, realising the misfortunethat had happened, said not a word, but recommended himself to Go
d andwithdrew into his room, where he found his wife in bed, she having heardnothing.
4 The _en cas_ was a kind of light supper provided _in case_ one felt hungry at night-time. Most elaborate _en cas_, consisting of several dishes, were frequently provided for the kings of France.--Ed.
5 In the story Margaret asserts that it was Thomas Guerin who attacked Dumesnil.--D.
"On the night of the said dispute, and a little later, St. Aignanwent to see what the said Dumesnil was doing, and finding him in thecourtyard dead, he helped to carry him into the stable, being toogreatly incensed to act otherwise. And upon the said Colas asking himwhat should be done with the body, St. Aignan paid no heed to thisquestion, because he was not master of himself; but merely said to Colasthat he might do as he thought fit, and that the body might be interredin consecrated ground or placed in the street. After which St. Aignanwithdrew into his room and slept with his wife, who had her maids withher. And on the morrow this same Colas declared to St. Aignan that hehad taken the said body to be buried, so as to avoid a scandal. To allof which things St. Aignan paid no heed, but on the morrow sent to fetchthe two young men in the service of the said Dumesnil, who were at hislodging, and had the horses removed from the said lodging, and gaveorders to one of the young men to take them back.
"On account of all which occurrences he (St. Aignan) absented himself,&c, &c, but humbly entreating us, &c, &c. Wherefore we now give to theBailiffs of Chartres and Caen, or to their Lieutenants, and to each ofthem severally and to all, &c, &c. Given at Chatelherault, in the monthof July, the year of Grace, one thousand five hundred and twenty-six,and the twelfth of our reign.
"_Signed: By the King on the report of the Council_:
"De Nogent."_Visa: contentor_.
"De Nogent."
It will be seen that the foregoing petition contains various contradictory statements. The closet, for instance, is at first described as being near the room in which St. Aignan and his wife slept, then it is asserted that the wife slept in the closet, but ultimately the husband is shown joining his wife in the bed-chamber, where she had heard nothing. The character of the narrative is proof of its falsity, and Margaret's account of the affair may readily be accepted as the more correct one.--Ed.
The Tales Of The Heptameron, Vol. I. (of V.) Page 19
